Book Review: 'Surviving Stress' by Vidhu Bhatnagar

Vidhu Bhatnagar is a believer in spreading happiness and the message of ‘attitude of gratitude.’ In the book ‘Surviving Stress’ Vidhu Bhatnagar helps calm down when you are bogged down by multiple realities and untoward situations of life. The book drives you into a rediscovering journey of oneself, faced by the stress of her higher education, responsibility of handling relationships and managing kids led her to write this book which is a breakthrough in helping overcome stress in daily living.

Vidhu Bhatnagar makes a serious attempt at presenting to us a seriously chalked out and sketched map through which if navigated can help us face life differently. She incorporates into this self-help book her own experiences that make the 68 chapters divided into two parts, part one titled, ‘surviving stress’ containing 43 chapters and part two titled, ‘rediscovering the awesome you’ containing 25 chapters, an authentic and interesting read.

Reading of this book needs a slow pace so as to make the sentiments expressed in the book penetrate into the depths of one’s soul. Each of the chapters is a capsule to handle stress. The capsules like being positive, being open to receive; correction, gifts, guidance etc., voicing out expectations, power of prayer, being alive and present, acceptance, knowing one’s weaknesses and strengths, being free, etc.

Vidhu Bhatnagar helps one realize one’s worth amidst the many things that trodden one’s self-image. She helps one accept oneself with one’s weaknesses and strengths, and begin loving oneself. She also trains one to rediscover the awesome person that one is. She notifies that generally human beings are loving but somewhere down the line we miss the glow. She makes it clear to us, that when we head towards achieving anything the universe is always ready to support us.

Although, at times we feel that there is repetition of ideas which could be done away with thorough editing. The cover page does give a calming experience but it is not catchy enough to attract the reader. Educreation publishing could have provided a better design. The interior design and the systematic arrangement of ideas in every chapter is commendable.

Read the book if you want to survive stress and rediscover your lost self.